The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, has been arrested by operatives of the Nigerian Police at the ongoing protest in Imo State.
His arrest comes as miscreants attack protesters, damaging automobiles and injuring labour members.
Already, the NLC President’s whereabouts are unclear, as he was taken away by heavily armed security officers.
On Sunday, the NLC said it would begin protests in Imo State from Nov. 1 over alleged violations and abuse of the rights and privileges of workers by the state government.
Ajaero stated that “NLC was deeply concerned about the persistent and egregious violations of the rights and privileges of workers in Imo State by the State Government.”
“Despite our repeated efforts to engage in constructive dialogue and reach amicable agreements, the Imo State Government has become a habitual and serial breaker of these agreements, continuing to trample on the rights of workers in the state.
“As a result, we are left with no choice but to embark on mass protests and industrial actions beginning on the 1st day of November, 2023.
“This is to demonstrate our outrage and stop the continuing violation of the rights and privileges of workers in the state.”
The NLC president went on to say that the demonstration was necessary because the state administration had refused to execute earlier agreements.
According to Ajaero, the administration has regularly broken commitments, most notably the deal struck between the government and organised labour on January 9, 2021.
“On outstanding salary arrears, shockingly, some workers have been subjected to a staggering 20 months of unpaid salaries under the unfounded label of ‘ghost workers’.
“Unjust declaration of workers as ghost workers, Approximately 11,000 hardworking individuals have been unjustly branded as ghost workers; their salaries have been diverted even while they diligently carried out their duties,” he said.
